United States v. Cory Heard

── United States v. Cory Heard ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Date: June 01, 2026 Category: General USCA4 Appeal: 25-4105 Doc: 43 Filed: 06/01/2026 Pg: 1 of 6 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 25-4105 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. CORY SEAN HEARD, a/k/a Skrilla, Defendant - Appellant. No. 25-4106 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. CORY SEAN HEARD, Defendant - Appellant. Appeals from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. Richard E. Myers, II, Chief District Judge. (5:21-cr-00178-M-1; 5:23-cr-00388- M-KS-1) Submitted: May 28, 2026 Decided: June 1, 2026 USCA4 Appeal: 25-4105 Doc: 43 Filed: 06/01/2026 Pg: 2 of 6 Before WYNN, QUATTLEBAUM, and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges. Affirmed in part and dismissed in part by unpublished per curiam opinion. ON BRIEF: John G. Baker, Federal Public Defender, Ann L. Hester, Assistant Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant. Lucy Partain Brown, Assistant United States Attorney, Sarah Elizabeth Nokes, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. 2 USCA4 Appeal: 25-4105 Doc: 43 Filed: 06/01/2026 Pg: 3 of 6 PER CURIAM: Cory Sean Heard pleaded guilty, pursuant to two plea agreements, to wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343; conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and other controlled substances, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B), 846; possession with intent to distribute heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C); and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). The district court sentenced Heard within the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range to a total of 152 months’ imprisonment and five years’ supervised release. Heard’s counsel has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), questioning whether counsel in the district court proceedings was ineffective for advising Heard to accept one plea agreement, in which Heard stipulated to a two-level Guidelines enhancement for maintaining premises for drug trafficking. The Government has moved to dismiss the appeals with respect to all issues falling within the appeal waivers in Heard’s plea agreements. We affirm in part and dismiss in part. Heard’s waivers of appellate rights do not prevent our review of the validity of the guilty pleas themselves. See United States v. McCoy, 895 F.3d 358, 364 (4th Cir. 2018). Because Heard did not challenge the validity of his pleas in the district court, we review the adequacy of the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 plea colloquy for plain error. United States v. Williams, 811 F.3d 621, 622 (4th Cir. 2016) (stating standard of review); see Henderson v. United States, 568 U.S. 266, 272 (2013) (describing plain error standard). Before accepting a guilty plea, the district court must conduct a plea colloquy in which it informs the defendant of, and determines that the defendant understands, the rights he is relinquishing